ADL Urges Congress: Protect Immigrant Children, Pass the Dream Act

New York, NY, October 3, 2017… The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called on Congress to pass the Dream Act to create a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who are “American in all but their paperwork.”

In a written statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the administration’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), ADL highlighted the many contributions of the 800,000 young immigrants who are now “uncertain of their future, and scared that they could soon face deportation to a country they may have never known,” as a result of the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind the program on September 5.

“The president’s unnecessary action to rescind DACA has caused enormous disruption for 800,000 young people and their families,” Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein. “Each of those immigrants is an individual with a unique story. But they all have one thing in common – they were all brought to the United States as children without documentation, through no fault of their own.”

The letter continued, “They came out of the shadows and went through the extensive and expensive process of applying for DACA – relying on a promise from the federal government that if they went through the legal processes, they would not be deported. DACA recipients have been raised and educated in our communities, worked hard, gone to college or graduate school, started businesses, bought homes and paid taxes.”

ADL called for enactment of a “clean DREAM Act,” a bill that creates a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants without unnecessary border security enhancements. “There absolutely should be a debate about immigration enforcement policies, but on this there can be no disagreement: young immigrants brought to the United States as children should not be used as pawns to advance an anti-immigrant agenda,” said Nathan and Greenblatt.

The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. ADL has strongly advocated for fair and humane immigration policies. Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias curricula for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all.

The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias education programs for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all.